On Motherhood, Race And Belonging: In Conversation With Daniela Scattolin

As the next generation of DIY actors takes the big screens, it’s safe to say that Daniela Scattolin will be one the scene’s most promising new talents. However, doesn’t limit herself to being just an exceptionally pretty face: at the other end of the line, she’s ready to dive deep into the cutthroat world of racial politics. “I was born and raised in Veneto, northern Italy, to a couple of Ghanaian origins and then I was adopted by my now-parents,” she tells me. “Growing up in northern Italy was exceptional for me. Exceptional in the truest sense of the word. Exceptional in the sense that it deviates from the norm because not many with my skin colour had such a potentially carefree childhood; and exceptional in the sense of incredibly beautiful because it allowed me to grow with simple but strong values.”

A woman of formidable poise, her words are an anthem for generations transfixed by societal constructs, an antidote to the hardship of systemic failures long entrenched in our world. “The fact I’m charismatic has not wiped away the thought about how I could have been treated if I didn’t have the ‘right’ appearance, character, but above all a family of a certain calibre,” she freely admits. “If I hadn't been adopted, I would never have had Italian citizenship before I came of age despite my being born and raised here. I feel lucky for so many things that a fair-skinned peer of mine will probably never experience as tangible issues.” It’s also a really political issue. “It's not safe to be Black in America. But being Black in Italy is also a challenge, because you’re forgotten by the system which tells you have to conform in order to fit in.”

Exploring the concept of belonging within the world and, by extension, with identity at its core, Scattolin is now among the cast of ZERO—a first-of-its-kind Netflix series focusing on the Black Italian experience and underrepresented cultures of the Milan suburbs—which, judging from the calibre of her sensitivity, has helped shape her thinking even further. In fact, she’s as fiercely determined as you’d imagine a teenager with such an impressive career under her belt to be. “I believe in the importance of inclusion at all levels for people of colour,” she says. “If it doesn’t exist in real life, how can a script naturally reproduce something that doesn’t manifest in society? I’m very happy with Sara, my character in ZERO. The real challenge was to recover that jaunty way belonging to the world of adolescence and realign with it, but it was fun.”

Scattolin’s dedication to reflecting on diversity is clear in her vision. Maybe thanks in part to the depth and experience she’s slowly gaining from acting, plus a heavy dose of natural intuition. Her talent carries a message of self-confidence and (you guessed it) self-acceptance, which feels incredibly relevant and necessary to her generation. “Growing up in Italy sometimes made me believe I had to repress my diversity, as if it was important to blend in and be as quiet as possible to survive. Now I would say that as a Black woman and actress my goal is to aim to redefine this box that we have been put into as Black skinned people and to hold the title up instead. Over the years I have acquired awareness and responsibility towards what my colour is and what it represents.”

As of late, a main conversation topic between members of international communities has been the discrimination against black women. “I’ve experienced the exploitation of the image of the Black woman for years. In addition to the idea of the angry woman, when with the idea of flattering me, people ring a bell, people call me or call other Black women black panther or Black Venus. Behind these names lies an ancient sexism in which black women are animalistic, promiscuous and sexually voracious, because there is something retrograde and offensive in these apparently banal stereotypes. In pre-war America, slave status, gender, and race combined to create a complicated set of myths about Black women who were considered aggressive, dominant, and masculine. Black women are still perceived as malicious, stubborn, bossy, unnecessarily noisy and violent, but we must fight to eradicate this bias.”

The consequences of slavery have not only resulted in harmful social, economic and political failures, but have also led to the demarcation of negative racial stereotypes of women of colour in the media. Therefore, the history of America is an affair that also concerns us Afro-Europeans. In fashion, the pattern is clear: television has shown the stereotypical ideas of Black women for countless times. “My thought is that there should be a more accurate and impartial representation of women of colour in the media in general,” she reckons. “Black women who are angry exist, just as anger exists with any category of people.”

The monochromatic photographs in which she’s captured exude timelessness and elegance, pursuing a lens that epitomises something close to poetry. “Of this particular shoot, more than my image, I’m happy not having let myself be controlled by negative messages from a society that wants through my skin colour to channel me into a bubble with immutable assumptions and reduced opportunities because of my skin colour,” she says. “To my daughter I want to convey this gaze of tenacity and non-submission to the world. I hope she can experience the achievements made by the union of women of any ethnicity. It’s not rhetoric; it is pure and living hope. I will never use my skin as an accessory, and I will not appeal to the real discrimination that exists in the world just because it is fashionable to be pro Black Lives Matter and to have afro hair because it’s soft and cool. BLM is a serious movement, not an Instagram phrase and I strongly believe that we can change this second category status to which we have always been bound.”

By looking at the world around her with thirsty eyes and longing mind, it’s clear Scattolin come across as anything but supremely authentic. On that note, she concludes reflecting on the peerless value of motherhood. “I’m very excited about the idea of becoming a mother, it’s a huge responsibility to raise a human being,” she says. “I’m young and in fact perhaps a little too young compared to the typical age which people decide to give birth. But in my life path now I feel the need to give love and be present without compromising the life of a creature. In fact, if I had to replace the word love, I would only replace it with purity. And if she doesn't feel comfortable in her gender, I want her to be proud of her path of change and not want to hide it.”